The Predicament
by Sarah's Scrawls
Summary: MacGyver is missing. A Soviet threat is on the loose. Is there anyone who can help the Phoenix Foundation?
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing. Reviews are welcome, and ideas are as well. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Look, Pete, I'm not going on another assignment right now! I almost got killed on my last one and I want a break!" MacGyver turned around and strode angrily out of Pete Thornton's office.

"Mac!" called Pete, but he got no answer. Hitting his desk in frustration, Pete sighed and began working on his computer.

When MacGyver exited the Phoenix Foundation building, he began to regret being angry with his friend. After all, it wasn't Pete's fault that issues arose which needed resolving. Mac had almost reached his Jeep, but after analyzing his conversation over and over, he decided that he should go back and apologize to Pete. However, before he could take another step, a blunt object hit him in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious. He was therefore unaware of the dark figure that dragged him into a car and drove away.

* * *

Pete had been working at his desk for nearly an hour when he heard a deep voice say,

"Are you Pete Thornton?" Looking around his computer screen, Pete was astonished to see a large, muscular man holding a round piece of metal standing in his office doorway.

"I am," he answered. "And you are…"

"Steve Rogers," said the man. "I was told to see you about an assignment." Realization dawned on Pete, and with it came disappointment.

"Oh, Mr. Rogers, I'm glad to finally meet you." Rising from his chair, Pete walked towards Steve and stuck out his hand. "Unfortunately, the man you were supposed to work with on this job just declined it." Steve's face clouded.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Pete chuckled.

"No, not unless you can get MacGyver interested in traveling the world and being shot at again." He returned to his chair and sat down with a thump. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Rogers." Steve stood silently in the doorway for a few seconds, then commented,

"I can do it alone, Mr. Thornton, if you don't have anyone else." Pete looked at him gratefully but said,

"I wish you could, but I'm afraid you'll need MacGyver." He mulled it over. "I'll tell you what: If you can stay in town for a few days, I bet I can convince MacGyver to work with you. He just needs a few days to think it over." Smiling, Steve replied,

"I don't have any other plans. I hope, for the job's sake, that you can persuade your friend. This job needs to be done, and I'll do it alone if I have to." He left, and Pete felt better than he had before.

* * *

MacGyver woke with an aching head and an immediate realization of his plight. He was locked in the trunk of a car. He could feel various objects around him. The car was in motion, and by the feel of the rocky road was far away from any town. For a moment MacGyver had a fit of panic, but it ebbed when he felt a glass bottle brush his bound hands. Seizing it, he dashed it against the side of the trunk and used the jagged edge of the glass to cut his bonds. With his hands free, he was able to feel around for other tools that might help him escape. A few odds and ends that didn't help him were all he could find. _Don't panic, MacGyver,_ he thought to himself. _You can think your way out of this. If only I had my knife or a paperclip!_ He assumed that his knife had been taken by whoever had kidnapped him.

Presently, before he could discover a solution to his predicament, he felt the car stop and heard the driver's door open and close. Footsteps approached the trunk and a key was inserted into the lock. MacGyver waited with trepidation to see who his enemy was. He grabbed an umbrella and gripped it tightly as he watched for the trunk to open.

The next moment the trunk was lifted, and with it came such glaring light that MacGyver was incapacitated for a minute. However, that was all it took for the assailant to lift MacGyver out of the trunk and throw him to the ground. Pain shot through MacGyver's body after the jarring fall, but even through the pain he felt a shade of curiosity, for the arm that lifted him from the trunk had been metal.

* * *

Phones rang urgently throughout the Phoenix Foundation. Pete was rushing to and fro frantically, giving orders left and right. Steve had just entered the building, and after a short search he located Pete. When he saw the worry on Pete's face, Steve knew something wasn't right.

"What's a matter, Mr. Thornton? There's a crowd of police and detectives around a Jeep outside, and in here it's like the U.N. Do you mind telling me what's going on?" Distractedly, Pete answered,

"Yeah, Rogers: The Jeep outside is MacGyver's, the guy you were supposed to work with. He's missing." Not knowing how to respond to this news, Steve remained silent. Pete continued on with his work as if the soldier wasn't there.

Feeling like a misplaced item, not a new sensation for him, Steve wandered out of the building. He passed the crowd around MacGyver's Jeep, casting a casual glance as he did so. However, that casual glance was all it took for him to notice a dent that looked as if it had been made by an arm. Steve immediately turned back around and rushed into the building he had just exited.

"Pete!" he cried when he found the boss. "I think your friend's been kidnapped by a Soviet super-soldier with a metal arm. If that's true, he's in a lot of danger." Pete didn't waste a minute. Snatching up his phone, he dialed a number and told the operator,

"Get me the U. N." Then, as he covered the receiver end of the telephone, he asked Steve, "What do you know about this soldier?"

"His name's James Buchanan Barnes, though his code name is The Winter Soldier." Pete put up a hand for silence when someone answered the phone.

"Yes, Martin? It's Pete Thornton from the Phoenix Foundation. One of my best agents has been kidnapped, and we think it's Soviet doing. What can you give me on a James Buchanan Barnes, also known as The Winter Soldier?" He and Steve waited anxiously during the silence on the other line. Rustling was heard, and finally the voice came back on the line:

"We don't have any records of a James Buchanan Barnes or a Winter Soldier. Are you sure those are the correct names?" Pete looked at Steve helplessly and shook his head.

"They don't know anybody with those names." Inhaling deeply, Steve answered,

"I should have known. Nat said that the Winter Soldier was considered a ghost story. Of course the Soviets would have covered his tracks!" Pete sighed and spoke into the phone,

"Well, thanks Martin for trying. If anything does come up, be sure and let me know." He hung up the telephone and with his hand still on it stared down at his desk. Quietly, Steve said,

"I'm going to find the Winter Soldier, and MacGyver." Looking up quickly, Pete opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say. "I'm sure he left traces I can follow. I'll keep in touch with you and let you know where I am." And before Pete could get his wits back, Steve had grabbed his shield and walked out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve knew that Bucky would not stay in town if he wanted to do away with MacGyver. As he was pretty sure that was what Bucky planned to do, Steve steered his motorcycle away from the bustling city and onto the highway that appeared to stretch away into the middle of nowhere. The many buildings which had abounded now thinned out into trees and long stretches of flat, desolate fields. Steve drove for many miles, but when he failed to see any signs of Bucky and MacGyver, he turned around and took another route.

He drove down every main road he could find. He then began to drive down some small and winding backroads in search of the two men. Turning onto one, he thought he saw tire tracks that didn't appear to be very old. He kept his eyes open and watched carefully as he continued on the road. After he had driven on it for nearly half an hour, he realized that there was no one as far as the eye could see. _This has to be the way he came,_ thought Steve. _There's no better place to kill someone without any witnesses._

He continued driving along the deserted backroad, until a sudden movement caught his eye. A man was limping along on the side of the road. He looked as if he was trying to hurry but was unable to do so due to his injury. When the stranger saw Steve, he waved his arms frantically for him to stop. Steve slowed to ask the man what his predicament was, but even as he slowed down the man jumped behind him on the motorcycle and shouted,

"Go! I don't care who you are, just get out of here as fast as you can!" When Steve hesitated, he shouted again, louder, "GO!" As realization hit him, Steve hit the gas pedal and zoomed back in the direction he had just come.

Though conversation was difficult in such a situation, Steve yelled at the man behind him,

"Are you MacGyver?" This caught the man behind him by surprise, but finally he answered,

"Yeah! Who are you, and how do you know me?"

"I'm Steve Rogers." Now MacGyver grasped the situation, and he chuckled, then winced as the act shot pain through his body.

The two men drove until they began to re-enter civilization, and Steve stopped at the first telephone so he could contact Pete and update him on the most recent development. Pete was ecstatic to learn that MacGyver was safe. MacGyver, waiting at the motorcycle, heard his joyful voice through the phone. Smiling to himself, he warmed at his friend's concern.

Presently, Steve hung up and they made their way directly to the Phoenix Foundation. Pete was waiting for them with a smile and a careful hug for MacGyver.

"Mac! I'm glad to see you safe, and relatively unharmed. You had me worried there for a while! Before I get Steve to take you to the ER, let me ask you just a few questions." MacGyver limped after Pete to his office. Steve tagged along behind.

Once all three were seated and as comfortable as they could be, Pete began by asking,

"So who was the guy that kidnapped you? Did you get to see his face, or did he talk at all?" Shaking his head wearily, MacGyver answered,

"He covered his face with a mask, and he never said a word." Steve was nodding his head in agreement.

"That's Bucky." Pete was typing furiously, occasionally asking MacGyver for specifics on this mysterious soldier and Steve for reinforcement. Eventually, out of the corner of his eye, Pete saw MacGyver swaying wearily. Steve caught him as he fell, and Pete immediately stopped what he was doing.

"I've got to get him the hospital," he said.

"I can take him for you, Mr. Thornton," commented Steve. Hesitating for a moment, Pete finally nodded and answered,

"Could you do that for me, Rogers? I have a lot I need to report to the director of the U. N." Steve nodded without a word and carried MacGyver out to his truck.

"And be sure to give me an update on him!" Pete called as he left.

The night outside was dark. Pete had been working for hours on his report on the Winter Soldier. The document was almost completed; there were just a few more things that had to be done to it. But Pete was still curious about this Soviet soldier, and he decided to do a little research on his own.

Pulling up some of the records on his computer, he began to scan the list of national enemies. Most were criminals who had already been arrested, tried, and convicted. Some had already served their time. Many were people that MacGyver himself had helped to locate.

Then one name suddenly jumped out at Pete. It was James Barnes. He was listed as incarcerated, but Pete knew after the day's events and Steve's knowledge of the secret soldier's habits that that couldn't be right. In order to learn more about him, Pete clicked on his name.

Immediately, all the lights in the building went out. The computer's screen shut off. The phone line went dead. Pete was genuinely alarmed and waited to see what would happen next. After many minutes went by, though, and nothing happened, he began to feel around in the dark for a light switch, or flashlight, or anything. Nothing was on his desk, so he began to feel around the room. And that's when his hand brushed against something hard. And cold. And metal.


End file.
